


unknown

by Onnoff



Series: AU-gust 2020 [15]
Category: Magic Kaito
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Gen, M/M, POV Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Pining, Yearning, im tired i dunno what else to tag, it's mostly kaito interacting with an OC, kaito's big fat ugly crush, the hakukai bits are barely there so be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26118904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onnoff/pseuds/Onnoff
Summary: Day 27: Flower shop auThere are somethings in life that Kaito accepted he'll never know. One of that was the mystery of the blond that seemed to work at the flower shop across the street, but was never present in the shop.
Relationships: Hakuba Saguru/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Original Character(s), Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Original Female Character(s)
Series: AU-gust 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860001
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20
Collections: AUgust 2020





	unknown

**Author's Note:**

> fic unbeta'd  
> (kinda unfinished but i decided that im just gonna add to in later as another installment in the series since i can't get the things i wanna write to flow with this)

Kaito watched the delivery truck parked in front of the flower shop across the street. It had become a bit of a morning routine as he got the restaurant ready to open for the day. 

Well, “restaurant” was what he called the place. It was more of a weird hybrid between a cafe and a bar. He initially applied to bar-tend, but the pastry/bakery side of the restaurant reminded him so much of his time in France that he asked his boss if he could switch between bar-tending and baking. Which was how he ended up opening for the place some days, and closing shop on other days.

* * *

It was his idea to get some of the flowers from their neighbor across the street to decorate parts of their restaurant, especially during the day time with how popular the place was during brunch and the afternoon. Girls who often frequent the place now found a much more aesthetically pleasing space to photograph and post online, further boosting their notoriety.

And in turn boosted the business of their neighbor when their customers asked for where they got such fresh and vibrant flowers from, all beautifully arranged too.

On days that he had evening shifts, he would bring coffee or tea or rich decadent desserts over. 

On days he had morning shifts, he would bring freshly baked pastries of some variety and either a cup of tea or coffee. At first, it was just something small, something to help the conversation flow better, a subject to use in small talk. Later, it was on orders as Ashley got annoyed with him giving out free food and drinks with no compensation. 

In Kaito’s defense, those were also his breakfast that he snuck away with, but Ashley was adamant. 

So he stopped “stealing” from the establishment, and his little gifts became a business transaction.

Not that it changed things much, as he’s already befriended Ashley by that point.

Ashley was the shop owner, not the original one as she kept reminding him, but Kaito didn’t really care much for that detail. He always only ever saw her anyways during most of his visits. 

* * *

That being said, Kaito turned his attention back to the flower shop and the people carrying out a fresh batch of flowers from the delivery truck and into the shop. His eyes flicked around at the different people unloading the truck to finally land on the blond. 

The blond. 

The mystery blond. 

The guy who was probably working at the flower shop. 

At least Kaito thought he would, considering that he was usually the one saying goodbye to the delivery people before the truck drove off and the blond turned back and entered the shop. Presumably to help Ashley with setting up the shop before opening.

Kaito was old and grown enough to admit to himself that he suggested adding flowers to their restaurant as an excuse to go visit the flower shop from across the street in the chance that he could get to know the mystery blond. 

Except, well, when he did go, the only person there was not the blond he was looking for. 

Which led to his comfortable friendship with Ashley where she demanded that he bring over whichever pastries or dessert that he thought was the best on that particular day, as well as tea or coffee to fuel her throughout the day.

Which wasn’t a problem. Except the part where he still hadn’t spoken with the mystery blond.

* * *

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. Kaito did get to speak with him one time. Once. During this one opening shift when he headed over to meet Ashley for another trade. Being his unashamedly and, what Aoko told him was an obnoxiously annoying self. But when he entered the shop, there he was, the mystery blond, on his knees at the corner of the shop, arm deep in a plant pot doing _something_. 

He could admit to himself that seeing the blond lift heavy objects in overalls or a worn down coverall as sweat dripped down his neck from the exertion was apparently something that Kaito greatly enjoyed. 

So it was unsurprising that seeing the blond working to repot some plants. Arms dirtied by the soil, as well as some speck that probably got onto his face when he wiped away his sweat, was well. It was really doing it for Kaito. 

But, that probably wasn’t it. 

It was the fact that Kaito could clearly see just how much the blond enjoyed doing what he did. 

He was quiet. Concentrated. But there was still something in him that sparked, and that caught Kaito’s attention.

Silent contentedness. 

The blond seemed at peace with himself. 

That should probably be something that bored Kaito, but instead it drew him in. drawing him close enough to realize that he ended up standing next to the crouching blond. Who was beginning to notice his presence. 

Quickly, Kaito made up some excuse about wanting a bouquet, luckily Ashley was absent, so he could pretend and use her absence as an excuse for why he was bothering the man. 

The man turned, looking slightly startled, blinking his blue-gold eyes at Kaito, lips parted. Before giving Kaito the quietest smile, and asking what kind of bouquet he was looking for.

Despite realizing that the man that he’d been staring at from afar for a period of time now was ridiculously stunningly gorgeous, even with all the dirt on his arm and face, Kaito managed to give him an answer. A lively bouquet. One he always asked for during the dreary winter. 

The blond listed out some flowers for him, of which he recognized only one, heather. The mystery blond could probably tell that Kaito didn’t recognize the names he listed. Because he was wiping his dirty hands on his legs, dirtying up the already dirtied coveralls, before walking over to the counter to, presumably, write down the names. 

Ashley joined them as the blond was finishing up his list, so all he did was hand the note to Ashley and asked her to make the bouquets for Kaito. And with Ashley in the room, Kaito ended up being so distracted with talking to his friend. When he realized, he looked around the shop, only to find that the blond was gone...

The bouquets were beautiful, like they always were. Yet, somehow, Kaito couldn’t help but stare at them. He stared while Ashley handed them over to him. Started while he was setting them up in the restaurant. Stared as he worked. Somehow, with the yellow and pink and white of the delicate flowers chosen for that day’s bouquets, the world felt a little brighter. It felt almost as if they were in spring time, instead of the middle of winter. 

Kaito asked for lively, and looking around the restaurant, seeing how much livelier and brighter the atmosphere was, the blond certainly delivered. 

* * *

Kaito never got to see or speak with the blond again after that. Other than what he was doing now, watching from the other side, across the street.

Sometimes he wondered if it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe he was just destined to watch the blond from afar forever. 

He’d seen others in the shop, of course. Ashley’s friends and coworkers. He didn’t see them often because unlike he and Ashley, the others rarely took opening or closing shifts. But he did see them on occasions when he’d go over to visit after he finished his shift, if he took the opening shift. 

But he never saw the blond in the shop again. 

* * *

“I didn’t know you had tattoos,” he said one day to Ashley.

“Hm? Oh, this?” She gestured to the tattoos decorating the skin under her collar bones. Delicate little flowers in the style of watercolor or something similar to that. 

It didn’t look like tattoos. More like the flowers pressed themselves against her skin and became one with it. He never imagined Ashley with tattoos or even thought she’d be the kind of person to even get one, but if he had to think, he’d probably come up with something similar to this. 

He nodded.

“Ah, I guess I’ve always worn collared shirts up until now,” Ashley said casually. 

It was summer.

He first started working at the restaurant across the street in late fall, Kaito remembered. 

“I have quite a few actually,” the blonde continued amicably, “but I guess those are also all in spots that’s pretty hard to see.” She laughed a little. “I got most of them before I started working here, so I had to pick strategic spots, y’know?”

She smiled at Kaito conspiratorially. 

He’d once complained to her how he was so terribly ill-suited for working in an office that he almost accidentally set the place on fire out of boredom. Obviously, he quit after the non-accident. But it left him with a funny story he could tell people, one that left Ashley laughing hard enough she ended up needing to support herself on the counter. 

He smiled back just as wickedly.

“Well now that you’re working here, any plans to get more in more obvious places? Like your arm or something?” He wondered if her other tattoos were flowers too, or where they were completely different. If she got more, which styles would they be in.

Ashley laughed a little.

“Maaaybe not at the moment,” she looked back down to the bouquets that Kaito distracted her from. “My friend’s birthday is coming soon. I don’t want to bother him with work, especially since we managed to make sure none of the bookings are on the day.”

Kaito gave an understanding hum in response. 

“What about you?” Ashley said, looking up at him with a smile.

“What about me?” Kaito didn’t know what she was asking about.

“Do you have any tattoos? Yes, no?” She asked in a quick sequence. 

“Oh, uh, no, I don’t have any tattoos,” he answered.

“Are you going to get any?”

Kaito took the chance to look away, to think about it. _Did he want to get any tattoos?_ He wasn’t sure. He thought about it passingly once or twice. But he never had anything in mind for what he would want to have, permanently inked onto his body for the rest of his life. Maybe something to honor his father...? He started at some of the roses in the shop. He didn’t want it to be something common though, but he also couldn’t think of what he would want.

“If you want, my friend’s shop’s just upstairs. Maybe I can talk him into getting you the friend of a friend discount?”

Kaito briefly wondered if her friend who tattooed her and had a shop upstairs was the same mystery blond that he saw around the flower shop helping Ashley out. But he brushed that thought aside. _Probably not_ , he thought to himself. The mystery blond didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be into tattoos... 

Kaito wondered if the blond actually had some secret garden somewhere that he owned and tended to, or if the blond was literally just a woodland creature that sometimes visited Ashley. 

Kaito wouldn’t be surprised if he ever found out that the blond was literally molded and created from the soil by some higher being, and thus was very attuned to others that came from the soil, just like him.

Kaito really should stop wondering and actually answer the question instead of leaving Ashley hanging in the silence. 

(If Keiko could read minds, he’d tell him that he needed to get laid. Kaito would tell her to shut up. Getting laid wouldn’t make him stop thinking about the mysterious blond. Probably.)

“Uh... maybe. I thought about it... getting something in memory of my dad, but...” he let the sentence drifted off. He wasn’t sure exactly why he kept hesitating. If he really wanted one, he probably would have had a design in mind by now. He does want one. But also not at the same time.

Even after all these years, he still wasn’t quite sure of how to handle his grief. 

“Hmmm... you could go for a consultation first? Maybe?” Ashley chimed up. “That might help you figure out if you want tattoos or not. Saguru usually doesn’t charge first consultation, at least he doesn’t for people who came in not knowing what they wanted and left with the realization that they didn’t want tattoos after all.” 

Kaito was pretty sure confusion was showing on his face.

“Don’t ask me how he could tell. I don’t get it either, but he always said it’s easy to figure out if someone would want tattoos or not. Whatever that meant,” Ashley said, shrugging as she finished up the last of the bouquets.

Kaito gathered the bouquets in his arms and gathered the info in his head. 

Looking at these flowers made him think of the last time he spoke to the mystery blond. Of course the bouquet wouldn’t be the same as that last time, that was winter and this was summer. Those flowers the blond picked for him was probably out of season. And yet, he couldn’t help but compare the different style between the flowers _he_ picked and ones Ashley picked. 

Both styles were nice, but Ashley’s choices were definitely less... loud? Hers was a style that complimented the season they were currently in. The bouquets were lovely, but... but he really should stop making excuses because clearly he liked the other bouquet more because of the person who made it for him and no other reason.

“I’ll think about it,” Kaito finally said, “the tattoos I mean.” Because why not? It was someone Ashley trusted, someone who’s quite skilled if her tattoo was anything to go by, and someone who’s pretty good at reading people. That might just be what he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> flowers that saguru picked were: heather, winter aconite, cyclamen, chionodoxa  
> can those be used to make bouquets? i dunno, lets just say they can coz i said so
> 
> Happy Birthday Saguru!  
> Except im late!  
> coz i was supposed to post this 2 days ago! and post the actual part 2 (aka the bday part of the story) today!  
> but irl hates my fic writing plans!!! 8DDDD
> 
> but yes, that's right, there's more to this au, crossing my fingers that i can post part 2 tmr. if y'all follow the au-gust prompts, u'll know what's coming next in terms of aus XDD  
> (i'd say to call me out on my twitter @Onnoffwrites if i don't post, but i don't even have the time to go on twitter to complain about how much time i dont have, so that might not do anything at all)


End file.
